Waving him away, she said, “Go, go!”
The three girls munched on the light lunch, sipping on refreshing Italian sodas, chatting in between bites and singing along to the music.
“You two are going to have gorgeous babies,” Sofia said to Aria as she laid back on the blanket.
“Sofia! We’re taking things slow. No one is talking about marriage and babies,” Aria scolded, her cheeks reddening.
“Yet,” Corinna interjected, making them all laugh.
Just then, Alex stepped out of the water, shaking his hair before grabbing a towel near the shore. Aria blew out loudly as she took sneak peeks at Alex from under her eyelashes. She would be embarrassed if caught ogling him.
Corinna elbowed her and with her eyes wide said, “Man, would you look at that?”
Sofia lifted her head and laughed loudly as Alex slowly approached them.
Pushing Corinna’s shoulder roughly, Aria said, “Corinna!”
Undeterred, Corinna answered, “What were you saying about beautiful babies, Sofia?”
When Alex finished toweling dry, his eyes caught Aria watching him and he smiled smugly.
Walking up to her, he knelt down and whispered in her ear, “Enjoying the view?”
Stuttering, Aria answered, “Uh, n-no. I was looking at the water.”
Chuckling at her obvious fib, he said, “I don’t mind, Aria. I’m all yours.”
Apparently, he said the last statement louder than he intended because Sofia and Corinna all yelled,“Ooooooo” in unison, causing Aria to blush even deeper.
Alex pulled her into his arms and lowered his head so he could speak privately in her ear.
"Buon compleanno cara.”
“Thank you, Alex. It’s the best birthday I’ve had in a long time.”
She took his face in her hands and ran her fingers in his beard lightly, making him suck in his breath. When her lips touched his, both sighed in pure happiness as their friends looked on.
Later as they packed to leave, Sofia asked, “Adrian, when do you head out to Portugal?”
“About two weeks. I fell in love with this area and decided to hang out a little longer. I’d love to stay in touch with you guys. It’s been fun meeting you,” he said.
“I’d love that, too. Here, give me your phones and I’ll put in me and Aria’s numbers,” Corinna answered.
When she handed his phone back, Enzo said, “Could I get them as well?”
Corinna’s head shot up quickly, her eyebrows arched high.
“Y-yeah, sure,” she answered, nervously taking the phone from him.
“You know, in case of an emergency,” he said, looking around and frowning at the amused looks of his friends.
“Mhmm, emergencies, yeah,” Adrian said as he folded the blanket.
Alex and Aria exchanged curious looks but said nothing.
Sofia chuckled and said under her breath, “Here we go again.”
Enzo grumbled and grabbed his phone back from Corinna when she was done. When he grabbed the beach bags and stalked off toward the parking lot, they all started laughing.
